Back in Dullstroom, and more warm weather! I don’t know the place in all its balmy sunshine and t-shirts and shorts!
It was a deliciously lazy weekend with old friends and midday naps and tears induced by Cards Against Humanity. The sweet resident farm dog (renamed ‘Sally’ by our crew) joined us for most of the time, exuberant and grinning from ear to ear on river jaunts.
Time moves a little slower out of the city (and when there’s no wifi or cellphone reception!), and I was able to fully enjoy the heady scent of pine needles, the squawk of guinea fowl and the background babble of the Crocodile River. I sat for a while with my feet in the cold water and watched the frothy river run over my skin, and in that moment I felt a little lighter and a little more connected to the flow of life.
There are also some resident fallow deer on the farm. When I first saw them and there gorgeous antlers, I did a serious double take … it’s like I’d stepped through a doorway into the English countryside!
fly fishing
Joburg getaway
I haven’t blogged in ages, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been doing some fun things (in amongst the grit of working for myself, hunting down new clients, and teaching heaps of yoga). Sometimes the fear of the blank document is just too much for me. I can’t bring myself to write, even though I know that the more I write, the easier it is. Admittedly by the end of 2014 I was totally overwhelmed with the on-all-sides assault of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and email. Brain = mush.
Anyway, enough about that! It’s a lovely, sparkly new year, and we were lucky enough to head off to Dullstroom for a weekend of deep breaths, rotund friendly ducks and delightful horses. Basically heaven.
My goal for the year is to release myself from Joburg more often – at least twice a month – even if it’s just on a day trip out of the city. We’re lucky to be close to an enormous array of beautiful landscapes and wide open spaces (some without cellphone reception!), so there’s really no excuse, except idleness, to stay city-bound.
In my experience Dullstroom is usually cold and misty, so I was intrigued to see the landscape in warm sunshine. Below are some pics I snapped in the lovely light (all from my Instagram).
A small Cape Town holiday
We went on a little mid-year Cape Town holiday last week. Here are some of my pics from the trip, mostly from my Instagram account, and usually edited with beloved VSCOcam.
Day one of the holiday started with a most perfect summer’s day, in the middle of winter. Cape Town showing off, as she does.
A walk on the prom was an obvious, and perfect, end to the day (with a cocktail at the Winchester Mansions).
Day two saw us being tourists and riding a big red bus, visiting one of my very favourite places, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, and a ride along the coast.
We then left Cape Town and went off to Lakenvlei dam, just outside of Ceres. Cold! But beautiful, with fynbos and proteas and still, icy waters.
And finally, back to Cape Town for some delicious lunches and dinners, and a walk through the lovely Greenpoint Park and Biodiversity Garden (we need one of these in Joburg!).
Thanks Cape Town … a pleasure, as always. Joburg now feels particularly cold, dry and brown!